REVEALED: San Francisco's crime-plagued Westfield mall has lost a staggering 46% of its stores since 2020 - and its food hall has also seen an exodus of sellers with just 20 of its 36 eateries still in business

Daily Mail UK ^ | June 14, 2023 | Neirin Gray

[Morgana]

Around 46 percent of stores in downtown San Francisco's Westfield mall have closed since 2020, as owners announced plans to close the shopping center amid spiking crime and rampant homelessness.

A total of 45 out of the 97 retailers operating in the mall - and 16 of the 36 food vendors - shuttered in just over three years, according to an analysis by the San Francisco Standard.

Days ago, Westfield announced it would be closing the mall altogether, and weeks after its anchor tenant Nordstrom potentially hammered the nail in its coffin by announcing its own closure in August.

Other major retailers to have abandoned the mall since 2020 include: Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, Microsoft, Tiffany & Co. and Timberland.

Last month, Westfield blamed 'unsafe conditions' and 'lack of enforcement against rampant criminal activity' in large part for Nordstrom's departure and claimed the poor performance in San Francisco was in sharp contrast to its other locations.

The San Francisco Centre generated $455 million in sales in 2019, before the pandemic. Last year, sales were down about a third to $298 million.

Nordstrom occupied 312,000 square feet in the mall: when it closes, Westfield San Francisco will only be 55 percent leased.

Other Westfield shopping centers are, on average, 93 percent leased.

The mall is an upmarket building, whose other retailers include Bloomingdales, Aesop, Rolex and Sephora.

Westfield's struggles will pile fresh pressure on city leaders after multiple retailers and hotels shuttered in downtown San Francisco as it continues to battle soaring crime, open drug use and homelessness.

'For more than 20 years, Westfield has proudly and successfully operated San Francisco Centre, investing significantly over that time in the vitality of the property,' the company said.

[Redcitizen]

‘For more than 20 years, Westfield has proudly and successfully operated San Francisco Centre, investing significantly over that time in the vitality of the property,’ the company said.

Westfield probably supported the policies that led to the mall failure.

[FoxInSocks]

The San Francisco Centre generated $455 million in sales in 2019, before the pandemic. Last year, sales were down about a third to $298 million.

But probably $800 million worth of products left the property.

[Vigilanteman]

In another criminal episode, Don Carmignani, 53, an ex-fire chief, is facing charges for using pepper spray on a homeless man who attacked him with a metal crowbar.

Carmignani suffered a fractured skull and jaw. Prosecutors are able to charge him because he used pepper spray on the vagrant thereby instigating the attack.

The city's District Attorney has opted not to prosecute the homeless man because he was acting in 'self-defense.'

There you have it. An unprovoked attack on a normal person in possession of pepper spray is self defense in the bizzaro world of San Fransicko.

[catnipman]

yet another bogus daily mail article: westfield owners are not CLOSING the mall, but instead are abandoning it to their creditor to let THEM operate it as they see fit ...

[minnesota_bound]

Westfield has a mall in Woodland Hills, Calif named ‘Westfield Promenade’ that is 99% empty as it will be torn down and a proposed concert stadium and 2 hotels and 28 story office tower and 1,400 apartments may be built in it’s place, now maybe a Rams training area. The neighbors are not happy. The traffic on Topanga Canyon blvd to the 101 freeway will be a bigger nightmare. I use to drive that and the 4 miles to the freeway took the many times the most time of my trip to work another 15 miles from there.
https://bestattractions.org/usa/california/the-promenade-in-woodland-hills-ca/